Chapter 809 Oilfield

Naturally, Franz didn't know what happened in Egypt. It was just such a trivial matter that the emperor didn't need to intervene in person.

In the recent period of time, in addition to the poor prospects for agriculture, the Austrian economy has generally been doing well.

If nothing else, the end of the year will be able to return to the peak level before the economic crisis.

Looking at the latest economic report, Franz breathed a sigh of relief. The development plan of the Near East is essentially made with money, and there is no return at all in the short term.

In order to raise funds, the Vienna government has successively issued 500 million Aegis construction bonds, and each month the interest payment of the funds is as high as 1.86 million.

This is just the beginning, as the development of the Near East continues, the government's debt will continue to increase in the days to come.

In addition to the previous old debts, Franz was surprised to find that the total government debt exceeded that of the Russians, and it was just around the corner.

"How far has the oilfield development in Iraq progressed?"

There is no other way. The projects in the Near East that will pay off in the short term are the oil fields discovered in Iraq.

There are so many oil fields in the Middle East, and Franz can't figure out which oil field in the future.

These are all small problems. Anyway, if you find it first, you will extract it first, and then you will extract it after you find it. The oil can’t escape if it’s buried in the ground.

Prime Minister Carr replied: "The extraction equipment has been installed, and the pipeline is currently being erected, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

It is expected that the oil in Iraq will be enough to meet domestic demand within a year after production.

In order to cut expenses, Austrian oil companies are already considering shutting down some of the country's small oil fields to reduce the cost of crude oil extraction. "

Undoubtedly, looking at the construction period, we know that the oil pipeline is not laid directly to Austria, but to the two river basins, and then transported by small boats into the Persian Gulf, and then replaced by tankers and transported back to Austria.

Although the Vienna government allows individuals to exploit oil, the extra-large oil fields discovered by the Iraqi government are still the dishes of state-owned enterprises.

Since the second industrial revolution, Austria's demand for oil has been increasing day by day. Even in times of economic crisis, it has maintained double-digit growth rates.

By 1884, Austria's oil consumption had reached an unprecedented 15.8645 million barrels per year.

This number is not worth mentioning in later generations. It is almost the consumption of some major countries in one day, but in this era, it is completely record-breaking.

Affected by the soaring demand for oil in Austria, international oil prices have climbed to a historical peak of 5.6 Aegis per barrel.

The price of crude oil of the same weight actually exceeds the price of grain. The high value of the oil has made the original inconspicuous oil become "black gold".

If that's all, then oil is still a niche commodity. After all, Austria consumes more oil than other countries combined.

The entire crude oil market has more than 100 million Aegis, and the total international crude oil trade is only a pitiful 20 to 30 million Aegis, of which Russians account for half.

The real reason to be optimistic is the growth rate of oil demand.

From 1884 to 1885, Austria's oil demand increased by 23.3%, and even the global oil demand increased by 15.4%. Such a terrifying speed is naturally self-evident.

The growth of the market is caused by many reasons. The first is the advent of diesel generators. Although the cost of power generation is higher than that of coal, these things are small, portable and easy to operate.

Humanity has just entered the era of electricity, and even Austria, which has the most developed electricity industry, is inevitably faced with power outages every now and then.

Ordinary people have to endure it. Anyway, the gas lamps that have just been eliminated are not unusable. Even if you have lost it, you can still light a candle.

But the factory can't do it. It can't be shut down when the power goes out, right?

In this context, diesel generators with independent power generation capabilities have become a necessity for many factories.

Not only factories, but also aristocrats and capitalists are standing in their homes. Franz is no exception, and the Palace of Vienna cannot guarantee that there will be no power outage.

The seemingly inconspicuous little machine has actually become a big gas guzzler, and the growth rate is still very rapid.

It was followed by tractors, and since 1880, the world's first internal combustion engine-powered tractor came out in Vienna, and then it got out of hand.

In just five years, this new tractor has been updated twice, with a dramatic increase in performance.

With the advantages of light weight and easy operation, it quickly defeated the competitor's steam tractor and began to popularize in industrial and agricultural production.

Up to now, there are more than 150,000 tractors in Austria, of which 67% are powered by internal combustion engines.

This is just the beginning, and as the Near East development program progresses, the demand for tractors is increasing.

If it were not limited by production capacity, it is estimated that the number of tractors in Austria would have already exceeded the 200,000 mark.

Manufacturers are expanding their production capacity, and after a year or two at the most, Austria's domestic production will exceed this number.

Not to mention all kinds of engineering equipment, they are all gas tigers anyway.

In contrast, family cars are only considered paediatrics. After all, this is only the patent of a few rich people, and it has not been popularized nationwide.

Judging from the current situation, the original five-year fuel consumption forecast by Franz is still too conservative.

complete

The oil industry has just started. Before the second industrial revolution, the main role of oil was mainly oil lamp lighting.

Originally, the market was limited, and gas lamps and candles had to grab the market, so the demand would naturally not increase. The base is small, and the growth rate is naturally fast.

Affected by this, the world also broke out in a small wave of oil search.

But all this will end soon. As long as Iraqi oil is developed, the international crude oil supply situation will be fundamentally improved.

As for other areas, Franz is not ready to start. Once the outside world finds out that the Middle East is full of oil, it will also lead to a decline in oil prices.

From the start of the Near East development plan, Franz made up his mind to use the oil drilling dividends to make up for the government's financial investment.

“This work, the government must step up. Judging from the current situation, domestic crude oil consumption will double in the next four years.

Oil fields in the Iraqi region could soon become an important source of government revenue. Relying on this field will not be a problem to support the interest in the development plan in the Near East. "

There's nothing wrong with it, just money interest. If you want to support the principal investment, this is not something that can be done in a short time.

No matter how high the profit of oil extraction is, the market scale is there, which directly locks the profit ceiling.

The growth rate looks fast, but this growth rate cannot be sustained, and as the total base grows, the growth rate will gradually decrease.

Austria's oil demand can double in four years, but it is very difficult to double the oil demand in four years in eight years.

Moreover, this kind of finance that relies heavily on resources is not what Franz wants.

From the outset he made up his mind to limit oil production capacity, with a small amount of exports sufficient to meet domestic demand.

Well, it's also a means of hitting competitors. Drive up international oil prices and delay the development of the British and French oil industries by high costs.